Match-box.



N. E. WASSILL.

MATCH BOX. APPLIUATION FILED MAY 18, 1911- 1 1,023,898. Patented Aprr23, 1912.

2 SHEBTSSHEET 1.

awe/who's N. E. WASSILL.

MATCH BOX.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 18, 1911 Patented Apr;2s.,1 912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m Z2 zz 72 NICHOLAS E. WASSILL, OF SAXON HILL, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA.

MATCH-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed May 18, 1911.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912. Serial No. 628,136.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NICHOLAS E. WASSILL, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Saxon Hill, in the Province of Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Match-Boxes; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to match boxes, more particularly to that class of match boxes which employ a mechanism for manually efiecting the separate ejection of matches.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tensioning device which will hold the matches in a compact bundle and force this bundle in the direction of the discharge slot.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange the tension device as to prevent upending of the matches so that but a single match will be discharged at each manual operation of the discharging mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for adjustably securing the free end of the tension device so that the bundle of matches will not be maintained under too great compression and thus accidental firing of the matches within the match box prevented.

With the above objects in view the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be made in the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification :Figure l is a front elevation of a match box embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the match box. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the match box. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 44 Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing the secured end of one of the tension bands.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts, the match box is shown to comprise a housing having a curvilinear body portion 10 from one side of which projects tangentially an oblong delivery spout 11, the

opening 12 in the spout being the same in width as an ordinary match so that but a single match can escape through the opening at one time.

The ends of the housing are closed by end walls 13 which conform to the shape of the housing, these end walls being spaced apart a distance equal to the length of an ordinary match. One of the end walls is formed in two sections, the approximately circular section 14 being hinged as shown at 15 to the approximately oblong section 16 and forming a door which may be swung outwardly to permit of the match box being loaded with matches. The matches assume the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 within the housing. The housing may be made of metal, fiber or any other suitable material.

J ournaled in suitable staple like bearings 17 arranged on the front wall of the spout is a shaft 18 one end of which projects beyond the end wall of the casing and is equipped with a thumb wheel 19 for rotating the shaft. Fixed at spaced intervals upon the shaft are pinions 20 which project through slots 21 formed in the housing front wall, the teeth of each pinion being so spaced as to permit of the engagement of a match therebetween so that upon rotation of the thumb wheel, the pinions will engage and pass the matches one by one through the discharge opening.

Formed in the housing adjacent to the opposite ends thereof is a pair of slots 22, the ends of each slot being disposed adjacent to the shaft. Secured to the rear face of the housing in any preferred manner are elastic bands 23, these bands being engaged through the slots 22 and equipped at their terminals with cross bars 24 or the like which are selectively engaged under one pair of a series of downwardly projecting pins 25 arranged on the front wall of the housing. After the match box has been loaded with matches, the elastic bands are drawn over the bundle of matches as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4 and the cross bar of each band engaged under the particular pair of pins that will cause the matches to be drawn into a compact bundle without too great crowding so that the bundle of matches is continually forced in the direction of the discharge opening under pressure but not under suflicient pressure to cause accidental ignition of the matches. By virtue of the elastic bands being disposed adjacent to the ends of the casing, the bundle of matches will be held against upending in the casing and thus the matches will Work through the discharge spout of the housing in parallelism and thus a single match Will be gripped by the pinion teeth at one time and passed out.

A length of sand paper 26 is fixed to the curved Wall of the housing for igniting the matches in the usual manner.

What is claimed, is

1. A match box including a housing having a discharge opening, and having a slot the ends of Which terminate adjacent to said opening, an elastic band terminally fixed to said housing adjacent one end of said slot and lying Within said slot, a cross bar secured to the free end of said band, and pins arranged on opposite sides of the other end of said slot adapted to detachably engage said cross bar.

2. A match box including a housing having a discharge opening, and having a slot the ends of Which terminate adjacent to said opening, an elastic band terminally secured to said housing adjacent to one end of said slot and projecting through said slot, a cross bar secured to the free end of said band, and a plurality of pairs of pins arranged on opposite sides of the other end and adapted to selectively and detachably engage said cross bar. a

In testimony whereof, I aifix my signature, in presence of tWo Witnesses.

NICHOLAS E. VVASSILL.

Witnesses:

JOHN WVAssILL, J r., J. G. JACKSON, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

